Rotary ground auger base and stand for supporting decoys and sporting equipment

ABSTRACT

A rotary mounting stand for removably holding a decoy, camera or there selected device upright on the ground. The stand includes an upright rod with a helical coil or flights forming an auger having a point at the lower distal end to be fixedly and removably screwed into the ground to support the stand in an upright position. The top end of the rod forming the stand shape cap configured, sized and shaped to correspond to the mounting base of a selected device to be supported on the stand. Just above the helical coil at least two outward extending legs extend normal to or perpendicular to the vertical rod forming a base when the auger portion is screwed into the ground. The distal end of each of the legs are bent or angled to extend upward perpendicular from the ground a selected distance forming handles for the purpose of rotating the auger into the ground. The auger is intended to be cranked until the at least two outward extending legs come to bear against the ground for increased lateral support.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/998,981 filed on Dec. 30, 2013 and claims priority from U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/960,068 filed on Sep. 9, 2013 andU.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/848,248 filed on Dec. 29, 2012and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/848,252 filed on Dec. 29,2012 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/848,253 filed on Dec.29, 2012 and U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/855,583 filed onMay 28, 2013 all of which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the field of mobile decoy stands.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Duck, turkey, geese and other water fowl hunters often use decoys forattracting the fowl during hunting season. The decoys are typicallydisplayed near or in the water and many are animated, that is, manydecoys are provided with movable wings and heads which may or may not bemotorized. Often times, decoys are attached to a pole, anchored, orsupported by a stake which holds the decoy in a preferred position whichis likely to attract ducks of targeted game animal. For instance, whenduck hunting, the decoy may be held above the water so that the motionof the wings gives the appearance of a duck landing on the water.Therefore, it is a requirement that the stand which holds the duck befirmly secured to the ground. Some decoy stands have one or more spikeswhich are hammered into the ground with a hammer, rock, limb, or othertool; however, problems occur due to the inability to penetrate theearth, or the stand becoming loose due to wind and wear so that it fallsover or the decoy spins around in an undesirable position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A rotary ground auger base and stand anchored to the ground for securelyholding a removable or mounted decoy, camera or other selected device ata selected level above the ground. The stand comprises and/or consistsof a base for resting on the ground having a vertical shaft or rodextending upward therefrom for holding supporting an object such as adecoy. A helical coil or flights forming a spiral extends below the baseopposite the rod forming an auger having a point at the lower distal endwhich is be fixedly and removably screwed into the ground to support thestand in an upright position. The top end of the rod includes an adapterfor cooperatively engaging a decoy or camera or other item to be mountedthereon. The supported item includes a base or receiver or adapter forcooperatively engaging the top portion of the stand support rodconfigured, sized and shaped to correspond to the mounting base of aselected device to be supported on the stand. The base comprises atleast two outward extending opposing legs extending normal to orperpendicular to the vertical rod providing lateral support to the basewhen the auger portion is screwed into the ground. The distal end ofeach of the legs are bent or angled upwardly extending upward generallyperpendicular to the ground a selected distance forming handles. Thehandles provide a leverage means for the purpose of rotating the augerinto the ground. The auger is intended to be cranked or rotated untilthe outward extending legs of the base are generally horizontal to theground and bear against the ground for increased lateral support.

The portable rotary ground auger base stand is designed for removablyholding a decoy, camera or other selected device upright above theground and anchoring the base within the ground to prevent the supportedobject from tipping over and to prevent the stand from twisting orrotating from the desired position during use. The stand includes anupright rod with a helical coil of helical flights of metal forming aribbon coiled therearound having a point at the lower distal end to befixedly and removably screwed into the ground to support the rod orstand in an upright vertical position. The top end of the rod formingthe stand has an adapter such as a lug or cap configured, sized andshaped to correspond to the mounting base of a selected device to besupported on the stand. Examples of a lug configuration is a rod withthreads, or a top hat configuration or a square ended rod forcooperative engagement with a receiver of a decoy or other object suchas a camera adapter. The outward extending legs have upward extendinghandles at the free ends for the purpose of cranking the coil into theground. The coil is intended to be cranked until the outward extendinglegs come to bear against the ground for increased lateral support. Inone preferred embodiment the legs oppose one another; however it iscontemplated that four legs or more may be used to comprise the base. Atleast two of the legs would include vertical arms for gripping to beused as handles for rotation of the auger into the ground.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand for supporting a decoy/camera, wherein the stand includes ahelical coil at one end which can be screwed into the ground.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand which includes an integral crank handle for the purpose ofscrewing the stand into the ground.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand which includes an integral crank handle for the purpose ofscrewing the stand into the ground and at least two laterally extendinglegs just above a helical coil so that when the coil is screwedcompletely into the ground, the legs come to bear on the ground.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand with a helical coiled at one end and an opposite end which issquare for receiving a duck decoy.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand with a helical coil at one end and a crank handle which can beused to thread the coil into the ground, thus forming a rigid connectionwith the ground and providing secure support for a decoy.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand which also includes a loop for attaching a jerk line to theupper end of the decoy stand.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand threads at the top distal end of the support rod forcooperatively engaging a game camera.

It is an object of this invention to provide a rotary ground auger baseand stand with a receiver at the top end for holding a standard camerawherein the receiver includes rod portion with ¼ inch by 20 threads andthe rod portion is adjustably attached to the top end of the stand sothat the camera may be held at any desired angle.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will beapparent with the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings showing a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention will be had uponreference to the following description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like partsthroughout the views wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the rotary ground auger base and standshowing the spiral auger extending from the lower distal end of thevertical support rod with a plurality of lateral support legs disposednormal thereto above the spiral including upturned distal end portionsforming handles.

FIG. 2 is a front view of an alternative top end for the rotary groundauger base and stand.

FIG. 3 is a front view of an alternative top end for the rotary groundauger base and stand.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a rotary ground auger base and standsupported by a rotary auger having a vertical rod stand supported by aspiral auger and rigid or foldable rotary support legs including hingedbrace legs providing a brace which can be folded for storage.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a archery bow stand supported by a spiralauger including lateral rotary support legs extended to form a base;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a rotary ground auger base and standincluding a telescoping shaft having a plurality of coaxial rodsdisposed therein which can be extended and held in position at aselected height by a pin extending through corresponding holes formed inthe shafts at selected locations; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a rotary ground auger base and standhaving a rotary auger and foldable rotary support legs includingtelescopic brace legs slidably attached to the vertical rod.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a rotaryground auger base and stand 10 for holding a device or adapter in araised position above the ground for the intended use.

As shown in FIG. 1, the rotary ground auger base and stand 10 comprisesor consists of a base having legs extending therefrom. An elongatedshaft 12 with a threaded distal top end 22 at the top extends from avertical rod or shaft extending from the base which sets on the ground.An auger comprising a helical coil 20 extends from the bottom of thebase and includes spaced apart opposing laterally extending legs 11, 13,14 and 16 for providing additional lateral support by bracing the standagainst the ground. Legs 13 and 14 are opposite one another as are legs11 and 16. Legs 13 and 14 have upward extending arms 15 which are usedas hand cranks to screw the helical coil 20 into the ground until thelegs are in contact with the ground. As an option, the legs are bracedagainst rod 12 by triangular shaped braces 18. It is contemplated thatall of the legs include upwardly extending arms forming handlesprojecting from the distal ends of each leg; however, at least a pair ofopposing legs are provided with arms for rotation of the auger into theground.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show alternative distal mounting adapters 30. In FIG. 2,the top distal end of the rod is a square rod 32 with a locking hole 36and a D-ring 34 for attaching a pull string and another having a ‘tophat’ of rounded head with a horizontal disc, which receive differenttypes of decoys and cameras. FIG. 3 shows a top distal end 40 includinga cap 42 arrangement for mounting a decoy, such as a turkey decoythereon.

An alternative embodiment of the rotary ground auger base and stand 50is shown in FIG. 4. The stand 50 includes two legs 14 and 16 that arefoldable for storage. Triangular shaped braces comprise folding bracearms 52 which are hinged at the connecting point with the rod 12 by tophinge 51, by medial hinge 53 at the middle of the folding brace arms 52,and by base hinge 56 at the lateral legs 11 and 16 extending from thebase. The legs 11 and 16 are hinged at the rod 12 just above the helicalcoil 20 by hinge 54 enabling the legs to be folded inwardly forpackaging and transport or storage.

Moreover, in an alternative embodiment, hinges 51 can be connected to asliding cylinder or ring which allows the top end of the brace arms 51to slide up and down the rod similar to the way an umbrella works asbest illustrated in FIG. 7.

Still other alternative embodiments have two, three or more than fourlaterally extending legs for bracing but in any case, at least two ofthe legs includes an upward extending rod 15 at the free ends forscrewing the helical coil 20 into the ground.

Another embodiment of the stand is a bow stand 100 shown in FIG. 5 whichincludes an “S-shaped” loop 102 extending from the top end of the rodfor cooperatively engaging a longitudinal member such as the arm of abow based between the loops to support the bow above the ground.

The rotary ground auger base and stand shown in FIG. 6 includes avertical telescoping shaft or rod extending upward from the base whereina pin or spring loaded detent (ball and socket) is utilized to hold theshaft at an extended or collapsed condition.

As shown in FIG. 7, a lower portion of the rotary auger stand includes alongitudinal rod held within an adjustable tripod with a lockingthumbscrew and a plurality of legs. The longitudinal rod has a helicalcoil at the lower end thereof. The rotary auger legs can be rigidwherein the tripod brace legs can be telescoping or slidably movedtherealong into a selected bracing position. Moreover, the rotary augerlegs may also be vertically hinged at the vertical support rod whereinthe tripod brace legs can be used to lock the rotary legs in placeproviding a base with enhanced lateral support.

The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness ofunderstanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understoodtherefrom, for modification will become obvious to those skilled in theart upon reading this disclosure and may be made upon departing from thespirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly,this invention is not intended to be limited by the specificexemplification presented herein above. Rather, what is intended to becovered is within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:
 1. A rotary ground auger base and stand comprising: an axialbase including at least four horizontal legs extending from said axialbase spaced apart equal distance from one another for supporting saidbase on the surface of the ground; at least two of said legs opposingone another including a distal end bent at an angle forming an armextending upwardly from a distal end of thereof for a selected distancedefining a handle; an elongated vertical rod extending upward from saidaxial base a selected distance; an auger comprising a helical coilextending downward from said axial base opposite said elongated verticalrod for cooperative engagement with the ground; an adapter for mountingan object to be supported on said a top distal end of said elongatedvertical rod.
 2. A rotary auger base and stand for removably supportinga selected device, comprising: a base resting on the ground; said baseincluding a vertical support rod extending upward therefrom including adistal end having means for cooperatively engaging and holding anobject; said base including a helical coil defining an auger extendingvertically downward opposing said vertical support rod, and said distalend of said helical coil forming a point; said base including at leastthree outwardly extending opposing legs extending therefrom normal tosaid vertical support rod and said helical coil providing lateralsupport to said base; each one of said extending legs including a distalend angled upwardly at a selected angle of up to and including 90degrees a selected distance from said base forming handles for rotatingsaid auger into the ground until said opposing legs rest on the groundproviding lateral support.
 3. A rotary ground auger base and standcomprising: an axial base including at least four horizontal legsextending from said axial base spaced apart equidistance from oneanother for supporting said base on the surface of the ground; at leasttwo of said legs opposing one another including a distal end portionbent upward at an angle with respect to the ground forming an armextending upwardly defining a handle; an elongated vertical rodextending upward from said axial base a selected distance having adistal end for supporting an object thereon; an auger comprising ahelical coil extending downward from said axial base opposite saidelongated vertical rod for cooperative engagement with the ground; andmeans for mounting an object to said distal end of said elongatedvertical rod.